So.....I woke up on monday and weighed myself. I was at an almost all time high (sans human in womb) and weighed 184.8. The highest I've weighed when not pregnant was 185, and that was shortly after having a baby that I gained 50 pounds with. So, not surprisingly I went into panic mode and immediately woke up from my eating whatever I want phase and started eating healthy, exercising, drinking water etc.

I felt SO super strong all this week and was losing fairly steadily (though it's all water weight I'm sure, and don't expect to lose this fast on a regular basis) but then yesterday it was like the universe punched me in the face and we had two car related issues, one child burn his fingers, two bank cards declined....you get the picture. I was stressed, and immediately ate like 1500 cookies.

I tried to recover and told myself to just eat a healthy dinner, which I did, but I ate about 3 bites of ice cream last night, and then got a starbucks white mocha today. I'm worried that I'm off the wagon again, and I just barely sat down in it.

What do you guys do for stress relief instead of eating? And I can't go for a walk, I can't read...I have a 4 year old running around and going crazy all day, so he limits my "me" time. Suggestions? Thanks a bunch!!

I work out when I am stressed.

How come you can't walk? Too cold? What about doing some bodyweight exercises to some music (jumping jacks, squats, lunges), and see if your child will play along?

Take "I can't" out of the vocabulary and you are already 1/2 way up the mountain

You can also take the harm-reduction style strategy. Why do you have ice cream and cookies in the house? Get them out! Nobody "needs" that food - even H and kids. If you want a treat from starbucks, get a small skim-milk latte made with sugar-free white chocolate and NO whip. A small regular one has 45 grams of sugar! The alternative has 14 grams of sugar, a lot of which still comes from the skim milk (plus 10 grams of protein which is great, 100 calories, and 0g fat)

well, that idea is a good one, except for two things....it is a balmy 35 degrees here right now, which is warm for this time of year (so your 65 would feel hot to me! lol) And, this boy is nutso. He runs the whole time and has on occasion not stopped at cross streets even with me screaming my face off, leading to even more stress, hence, more eating. So, until I get that kid leash I've been dreaming of...I guess that one won't work.

But I appreciate the idea! I was working on bookmarks to make, but then my husband somehow lost the bag of my ribbon and magnets and hot glue sticks, and now I'm out of that idea too. And of course he swears he didn't touch it. Men.

thanks sacha! I agree...can't shouldn't be used, and we should not have stuff in the house...however there is one caveat. I own a business making gourmet pretzels. On a fairly regular basis I am around oreos, m&ms, caramel, chocolate...you get the idea. Most days I'm good at not eating those things (eating the profit!) but on seriously stressful days anything is fair game. I've cleaned the house out of virtually anything remotely junky several times, only to drive out the next day to buy more, if particularly stressed. (did I mention it has been a VERY stressful year!? Put on 35 pounds since last november. uh, yeah.)

reading does seem to help, but some days I'm so busy with the business (like during christmas season!) or with the kids that I can't stop to read. That's one reason I signed up for this site. So, maybe blogging about it, or just posting here will help. It can't hurt!

I am also a stress eater, so I can relate. Doing something other than eating is often easier said than done, but the trick is to recognize it for what it is.

I've found that coming here and posting and/or responding to posts often not only takes my mind off the food but also encourages me when I see others struggling with the same demons. Many here have learned how to cope with this, so reading about their coping mechanisms certainly helps me and can help you as well.

I've seen the quote "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels," or something along those lines, quoted here and elsewhere. Not sure who said it, but it is certainly a good thought to keep in mind when temptation rears its ugly head.

Yes, doing something other than eating IS easier said than done.

However...

only YOU can be the one to turn it around. if that means that you literally say out loud to yourself "I AM NOT GOING TO EAT XYZ RIGHT NOW TO FIX MY STRESS IT WON'T HELP" or have a code phrase that you say to yourself, whatever works. I was out shopping today, I've been depressed because I've had some health issues, and I was hungry... I walked right by a candy shop, followed by a bakery, followed by a sandwhich shop, followed by a nut store (and those delicious chocolate covered nuts)... I said OUT LOUD (because I don't care what anyone thinks if they'd heard or seen me) "NO you are not going to buy anything here, not even *just* a cookie or some chocolate (as I eyed the snickers bars at the checkout in one store)" and I walked away from it.

Is it easy? No, but you are not going to "easily" just lose weight and be healthy and fit for yourself and your child(ren). You have to choose to do this. You have to commit to it. Does stress eating make you feel better? I'm thinking not. It doesn't help me. It just makes me angry at myself.

One thing you can do (besides remove junk from your home at least) is PLAN AHEAD at least for the day. Your main meals and your snacks and do not deviate. I get that you are surrounded by goodies. Trust me, I really do! I work at Starbucks (the Roasting Plant in Amsterdam) and even though it's a Regional office we still have a fully functioning store in our building. I am surrounded by cakes, muffins, cookies, doughnuts, etc. I am also a trained barista and coffee master and I am allowed to go behind the bar at any time I want and make whatever drink I want. Do I want to take advantage on a daily basis? You bet your White Mocha I do! But, I DON'T. That's the difference. I choose to not do it, even when I'm stressed (and I work in the finance department, famous for stress, month end, reporting, etc - most of the smokers in our office are from that department and the most stress-related sickness as well) because i would rather STICK TO THE PLAN.

Have treats and things when you really choose it. Plan for it and then don't stress eat it, sit down and enjoy it. Find a place where you can let your kid run around. in fact why not run around with him? that's also exercise? what about an early morning before everyone is up walk or exercise DVD. The more you do to preventatively de-stress, the more you are able to handle it when it happens.

Take can't's and won't's out of your vocabulary. Keep an old-fashioned journal or a blog to write out your stress. Make time for you, even appointments with yourself if you have to. When stress happens, take a moment, breathe and then think about that long-soak in the bubble bath you are going to go for later. I am by no means trying to simply your challenges with these solutions. It takes a little bit of work and getting used to but soon you'll have ways to de-stress even as part of your day.

you can do this!!

it is physiology backfiring on you. You are stressed. You create more stress hormones. Steroid hormones such as cortisol are synthesize from cholesterol..therefore you crave cholesterol containing foods. Your body also undergoes a process called "gluconeogenesis" where everything is broken down into glucose to use for your "flight".

Of course you are not really going to run (unless you take Sacha's idea of exercising under that stress)..so the extra sugar, is stored as fat, because you simply don't need it.

vicious cycles get me every time! :0

I agree with this.


Work your plan and it will work for you. Good luck with your goals.

Hugs
Michelle

Have you looked into getting a treadmill? I have 2 toddlers and a 4 year old, now that I have a treadmill I make time to use it.